Conversation Portrait | Spike Lee | LIVE from the NYPL

457 views · Published 10 March 2009 · 6:24 · Indexed 20 September 2026

Channel: The New York Public Library · 2009 · Film & Animation

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"Miracle at St. Anna: Spike Lee and James McBride in Conversation," a LIVE from the NYPL Conversation Portrait, by artist Flash Rosenberg and video editor Sarah Lohman, September 26, 2008.

Spike Lee's film "Miracle at St. Anna" chronicles the story of four black American soldiers who are members of the US Army as part of the all African-American 92nd Buffalo Soldier Division, stationed in Tuscany, Italy, during World War II. Based on the novel and with a screenplay adapted by James McBride, it is a story about redemption, and triumph over the bleakest of experiences.

The book, "Miracle at St. Anna, The Motion Picture," is a visual tribute to not only this epic, but also to countless African American soldiers who risked their lives for a country by which they were treated with less respect than the enemy they were fighting. The book includes costume designs, storyboard sketches, personal text by Spike Lee, a full scriptbook, and archival material from the Second World War.

Live-drawing: Flash Rosenberg
Video editor: Sarah Lohman

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